• The property

  Address, parking, pets, smoking and waterbeds, a pet deposit and pet restrictions.

• The terms

  Availability, type of lease, minimum length, rent, deposit and application fee.

• What you ask the applicant for

  Rental history, employment, proof of income, a Social Security number, a credit or criminal check and bankruptcies.

• Blanks for the applicant

  The applicant's personal details, history and signature are lines to complete.

• Who to contact

  A name, phone and email the applicant can use with questions.

• A lawyer reviews it before it is used

  Your answers are prepared into a draft and reviewed by a qualified lawyer, rather than handed back to you as a finished form.

A rental application is a form a prospective tenant fills in to ask to rent a home. You prepare it with the property and the terms, and the applicant completes their own details.

This builder asks for the property address, parking, whether pets, smoking and waterbeds are allowed, a pet deposit and pet restrictions, when the property is available, the lease term, rent, security deposit and application fee, and who the applicant should contact. You choose what to ask the applicant for: a Social Security number, rental history, employment details, proof of income, a credit or criminal background check, and whether they declared bankruptcy in the past seven years. The applicant's sections are blank lines for them to complete.

The form does not say what the law allows a landlord to ask or check, or any limit on a deposit or fee. Those depend on your state, and a lawyer can tell you.

Not sure? Talk to an attorney about your situation first.

These are separate documents, for different jobs.

• Residential lease agreementsSet the terms for renting a home.View document
• Tenant-screening documentationThe paperwork for screening prospective tenants.View document
• Security-deposit agreementsSet how a security deposit is held and returned.View document
• Commercial Lease ApplicationCollect a prospective tenant's details for a commercial lease.View document

• Receiving several applications for one home
• Screening applicants for a rental house
• Setting out pet rules before anyone applies

• Tenant-screening documentationThe paperwork for screening prospective tenants.View document
• Commercial Lease ApplicationCollect a prospective tenant's details for a commercial lease.View document
• Gift deedFormally give property to someone as a gift.View document
• Residential lease agreementsSet the terms for renting a home.View document